It's not easy to
make history on Everest anymore. Many routes have been
done and even variations on variations of routes have
been climbed. It wasn't always the case. On October 3rd
1984 Greg Mortimer and teammate Tim Macartney-Snape
became the first Australians to climb Everest,
considering that they did this via a new route (now one
of 15 recognized routes) and without bottled oxygen and
you do indeed have an historic Everest moment.

Mortimer is also the first Australian
to climb both Everest and K2. He has worked as a geologist, a
survival-training instructor, and a Scientific Affairs Adviser for the New
Zealand Antarctic Division. He is a geochemist by profession and now runs a
business selling adventures to Antarctica and is a motivational speaker. In
1988 he organized the Australian Bicentennial Antarctic Expedition which was
covered in two documentaries; "The Loneliest Mountain", by Film Australia and
"Everest - The Australian Assault", by the Australian Television Channel Nine
Network.

His climbing accomplishments aside from
Everest include the first ever summit of Annapurna Two via its South Face
(1983), the first Aussie summit of Antarctica's highest peak Vinson Massif
(1988), and the first Australian ascent of K2 the second tallest mountain in
the world (1990). He has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for
mountaineering by the Australian government and has received three Australian
Geographic Society medals.